‘We need to talk about it’, says Thailand mental health chief as suicides increase during COVID-19

[Jonathan Fairfield]

 

A woman hugs her friend to give her support. (Photo: iStock/Artfully79)

 

By Pichayada Promchertchoo

 

Thailand's Mental Health Department expects suicide rates to increase as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and encourages the public to seek mental health support when they need it.

 

BANGKOK: Suicide rates are on the rise in Thailand as COVID-19 has undermined public mental health for almost two years. 

 

Latest data from the Mental Health Department showed a marked increase in suicide deaths, which rose from at least 5,768 in 2018 to 5,870 in 2019. The figure was 6,597 in 2020. 

 

This means last year alone, Thailand recorded 10.08 suicide deaths per 100,000 population. 

 

Full story: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-suicide-covid-19-mental-health-department-director-general-2247011

 

-- © Copyright Channel NewsAsia 2021-10-17

 

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[elcaro]

Probably no money available from the government to put into this issue as they just spend 200M THB to pay for "entertainment". 

[lolalol]

truly unfortunate.... 

[TooMuchTime]

That is what happens when some individuals decide to shut down peoples livelihood and jobs.

 

 

[mikebell]

‘We need to talk about it’, says Thailand mental health chief' - Great talkers the Thais, just not very good at doing.

[HappyGoLuckyLife]

The topic of mental health has been a subject that's been avoided serious discussion in SEA. It's time we bring it to light.

[spidermike007]

The current suicide rate is beyond anything we could have ever imagined. I have a friend who has a close friend who is an EMT in Bangkok. She said they are often called out to a home, and there is anywhere from one to six people who have committed suicide. She told us recently they were called out, and the mother, father, three children, and the grandmother were found dead, from drinking poison. They left a note. There is 200 baht in the drawer. That is all we have. We cannot take care of the children any longer. There is no hope left. We cannot work, as they will not let us, and we cannot afford to eat. She said her group of nurses and EMT's just sat down on the floor and weeped for a very long time. 

The people want the truth. The administration is doing everything in their power to suppress it. The creepy police who were at the scene warned the EMT's, who needed to take photos to document the scene, that if any of the photos were shared, or posted online, they would be looking at a 15 year prison sentence for "sedition".

I think it is safe to say this toxic bunch of power hungry creeps have re-written the definition of sedition. It now means doing anything that embarrasses us, bring humiliation upon us, reveal the truth about our destructive ways, show the people the extent of our failures, demonstrate the degree of unhappiness, sadness, desperation, sabotage, callous disregard, criminal intent, or willful neglect of, and towards the population of this nation. 

[pseudorabies]

Belief in reincarnation can make suicide seem almost reasonable to some.

 

Asia is no place to have any kind of mental illness.

[Tropicalevo]

Very sad numbers and probably under-reported.

Motorcyclist (no helmet) drives into the back of a parked garbage truck at high speed. Accident or suicide?

The numbers do not reflect the attempted (and failed) suicides either.

Very, very sad.

[ezzra]

But.. But.. the other article today say that Thailand has one of the best health system in the world...

these are horrible statistics, never knew this mental health situation was so dire in this country...

[HappyGoLuckyLife]

36 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

They left a note. There is 200 baht in the drawer. That is all we have. We cannot take care of the children any longer. There is no hope left. We cannot work, as they will not let us, and we cannot afford to eat.

This just broke my heart. ????

[toofarnorth]

35 minutes ago, HappyGoLuckyLife said:

This just broke my heart. ????

Me too , how damn sad is that to find a note like that.

[cnx101]

2 hours ago, elcaro said:

Probably no money available from the government to put into this issue as they just spend 200M THB to pay for "entertainment". 

And submarines 

[KhunLA]

Pre-virus it was high to start, take away income, and no surprise.  Wiki stats (2019) puts it about midway on the worldwide scale.  

Not to go off topic, but USA has one of the highest rates of the G20.  Russia & S. Korea a bit worse.

 

Another site, w/interactive map, a bit more friendly to Thailand:

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by KhunLA

[asiasurfer]

There is no proper Mental Health Care in Thailand. If the case wasn't so sad, I would just say re-open the bars and let people entertain themselves again. 

 

But given the seriousness of the situation, they should really let people get on with their lives. 

 

We always talk about Covid deaths, but nobody cares about the consequences of long knockdowns.

[Skeptic7]

Suicide is an escape from unbearable suffering of myriad kinds.

 

“No man ever threw away life while it was worth keeping.”

― David Hume

[Gottfrid]

3 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

COVID-19 has undermined public mental health for almost two years.

That´s proof of that the age of miracles ain´t over yet!

[lolalol]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

They left a note. There is 200 baht in the drawer. That is all we have. We cannot take care of the children any longer.

This is a tragedy. This is heartbreaking.

 

 

[spidermike007]

Just now, lolalol said:

This is a tragedy. This is heartbreaking.

 

 

And it is a fact, that nobody wants to talk about. The mental health chief (whatever that means) says it needs to be discussed, but he is demonstrating a huge lack of fealty to Prayuth, in the process. This kind of national emergency is real proof that Thailand should never allow another coup to happen. With a civilian government that is democratically elected, and a truly representative body in the senate, Thailand at least has a chance of qualified ministers being appointed based on merit and talent. With Prayuth and this army, there is little chance of this ever happening. They are re-defining the words cronyism and inept on a daily basis.

 

Nobody knows how high unemployment is right now. I suspect it is over 30% nationwide. Alot of hurt right now. Alot of pain for the locals. I really feel for them. Where is the hope? Where is the promise of a rosy tomorrow? What is the future of the nation? Seven years of regression, combined with a stunning degree of mismanagement, ineptitude, lack of vision, and inability to even get the vaccine program right, is leading to alot of desperation at this time.

Should I be worried about saying these things? I cannot be punished, as all of this it true. Prayuth said we can be critical as long as it was true. However we know what you actually meant, Prayuth. What you actually meant is:

You cannot criticize us, on any level, for anything! Ever! Am I understood? However, since the worldwide media, social media, and the Guardian are now publishing highly critical articles, about the oppression, suppression, and repression we are inflicting upon the citizens and ex-pats of this nation, the heinous punishment we are handing out, and we are taking more egg on the face than we care to, we will issue a "statement of clarification", so nobody "misunderstands us, or our noble intentions".

We are despots, and there is no length we will not go to, to make it seem otherwise. However, we do not want the world talking about us. That is a bridge too far. Damn, I sure wish the media, social media, and the news agencies did not exist. They make life so complicated for me, when I am always having to justify my behavior! Can't you guys just leave us alone?
 

[jerrymahoney]

47 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Should I be worried about saying these things? I cannot be punished, as all of this it true. Prayuth said we can be critical as long as it was true.

Nah.

 

Thai court suspends government order on 'false messages'

BANGKOK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A Thai court on Friday suspended the implementation of a government order to ban the dissemination of "false messages" and distorted news, ruling it breached individual rights and freedom enshrined in the constitution.

 

Media groups had filed a petition to revoke the order after accusing the government of intending to use it to crack down on criticism over its handing of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Authorities have been taking legal action against some people, including celebrities and social media influencers, who have criticised the pandemic response.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-court-suspends-government-order-false-messages-2021-08-06/

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

BANGKOK: Suicide rates are on the rise in Thailand as COVID-19 has undermined public mental health for almost two years.

Only two years..?

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

They left a note. There is 200 baht in the drawer. That is all we have. We cannot take care of the children any longer. There is no hope left. We cannot work, as they will not let us, and we cannot afford to eat.

And TAT are talking of spending 200 million on hiring a singer purely for entertainment.

Edited October 17, 2021 by hotchilli

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

And TAT are talking of spending 200 million on hiring a singer purely for entertainment.

When you have an administration that is built solely upon a foundation of cronyism, favoritism, and corruption, you end up with alot of morally bankrupt people, with ridiculous amounts of money. It gives them an Ivory Tower consciousness, and seems to foster a level of pathology that manifests itself as a dislike of the common man, a lack of respect for anyone who is not very wealthy, and a system of patronage, that only the toxic urchins within the army, the administration, the police, immigration, customs, and the elite of society benefit from.

 

For the masses, woe is them. And woe is Thailand. 

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, jerrymahoney said:

Nah.

 

Thai court suspends government order on 'false messages'

BANGKOK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A Thai court on Friday suspended the implementation of a government order to ban the dissemination of "false messages" and distorted news, ruling it breached individual rights and freedom enshrined in the constitution.

 

Media groups had filed a petition to revoke the order after accusing the government of intending to use it to crack down on criticism over its handing of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Authorities have been taking legal action against some people, including celebrities and social media influencers, who have criticised the pandemic response.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-court-suspends-government-order-false-messages-2021-08-06/

Always refreshing when a court shuts down the attempted use of oppression, repression, suppression of the flow of information, and the overarching desire to shut up the people, on the part of the power hungry goons and creeps. 

Edited October 17, 2021 by spidermike007

[herfiehandbag]

No, don't talk about it, more specifically do something about it.

 

Take steps to do something about it. Give those whose livelihoods and lives have been utterly ruined by the measures which you have blundered through, which have had the affect of destroying great swathes of economic activity hope. At present they can see no hope. That is what makes them vulnerable.

 

My daughter has a good friend.

She was always a sweet, cheerful, rather cheeky, pretty teenager, full of life and "joi de Vivre". Both her parents worked in a big restaurant which catered for tour groups. Both her parents have lost their jobs, her father now ekes out a living doing odd jobs with his old pick up. There is no hope for them to better themselves. She is now a sad introverted little girl. We took her to KFC the other day, just to put a smile on her face. I know my daughter, with another friend, pays for a basic internet package on her phone. It is legions of people like that family who are vulnerable - do something to give them hope, don't <deleted> it up the wall on celebrity stars for hi-so New Year countdown to parties.

 

You can do that by starting to govern, invest and spend on your people - all of them, not just your stinking rich mates in Bangkok.

 

Kick start the economy for them.

Edited October 17, 2021 by herfiehandbag

[Peterphuket]

7 hours ago, TooMuchTime said:

That is what happens when some individuals decide to shut down peoples livelihood and jobs.

 

 

And still they don't care, except bla, bla, bla.

[Peterphuket]

7 hours ago, elcaro said:

Probably no money available from the government to put into this issue as they just spend 200M THB to pay for "entertainment". 

Do you meaning the submarines for "entertainment"?

[khaowong1]

11 hours ago, TooMuchTime said:

That is what happens when some individuals decide to shut down peoples livelihood and jobs.

 

 

Amen.

[djayz]

What do you expect from a society that doesn't care for anybody except those "special few"? 

[Sir Dude]

Pity the government doesn't take this attitude of "talking about it" a little more seriously on a few other subjects too.